Young people at Prior's
Court got a taste of
Shakespeare from the
comfort and safety of our
site, thanks to a theatre
company and video
conferencing software.
Sessions with Flute Theatre have
been held with actors performing
A Midsummer Night's Dream via
Zoom for one of our young people
in each performance.
Flute Theatre, which creates
and performs Shakespeare
productions for those affected
by autism and their families, has
embraced video conferencing
technology during Covid-19 to
provide its inclusive experiences
involving sensory games.
At Prior's Court, the arts are a
crucial aspect of our
curriculum to give
our young people,
many of whom are
pre-verbal, a powerful
means of communicating
their needs, expressions and
feelings.
Due to coronavirus-related
restrictions, the usual regular visits
of a theatre company to Prior's
Court have been halted, with
the alternative provided by Flute
Theatre a welcome addition for
our young people to benefit from.
In the sessions, our young people
were encouraged to mimic the
gestures and noises made by the
actors during the course of the
performance.
Claudio Vilella Moreno, one
of our teachers who has
a passion for drama and
supported our young
people on the sessions,
said: "The gestures and
noises used through the
performance are great as a way to
develop a young person's social
skills. And it was brilliant how this
worked so well on Zoom.
Thank you to Flute Theatre
for sharing the Zoom call
screengrabs.
Shakespeare on Zoom with theatre company
@PriorsCourt
/priorscourt
Parents tell their stories of complex autism
Shaun and
Autism
Practitioner Santi
Martinez-Parra
during filming
with ECP Video
on-site.
The parents of two of our
young people have told their
stories on camera about the
impact of having children
with complex autism.
Matt and Suzanne, parents of
young person Zac, and Geoff,
father of young adult Shaun,
were interviewed to show what
complex autism means to them
and the impact having a child
with the condition has had on
their families.
The films also explore how Prior's
Court has made an impact on the
health, happiness, independence
and ability to work of their
children, and also the positive
difference made to their families.
Zac joined Prior's Court in
2019, so Matt and Suzanne
speak about the process of
understanding what their
son's diagnosis meant and
getting the provision they
want for their son.
In one of the films,
Suzanne said: "I didn't
know how serious the
condition could be. I didn't
know that it meant perhaps
he would never be able to walk
properly, or talk, or use the toilet.
"You reach the realisation that
you're not the best person to look
after your child which is heartbreaking
because you feel like a
complete failure - the one thing
you are supposed to do is look
after that child and keep them
safe and we couldn't do that."
Matt added: "We went to an open
day at Prior's Court and you see
among the staff this fierce loyalty
and drive and pride in showing us
what they were doing with these
amazing kids.
"Where so many people had
written Zac off, here was
somewhere where he would be
at the heart of everyone's day, to
give him the life he deserves and
needs."
Shaun has been at Prior's Court
for a longer period of time and
so Geoff focuses on how staff at
Prior's Court have changed his
son's life.
In one of the films, Geoff said:
"[Pre-Prior's Court, as a parent]
you're not understanding what
Shaun wants as he cannot
communicate that.
"If he was having a wobbly bit,
it would last three or four hours
and that's stressful on Shaun.
He would be headbutting doors,
headbutting the floor, slapping
himself.
"But there's none of that now. And
that's all down to Prior's Court."
The videos are available to view
on our YouTube channel and
a selection also appeared in
the online photo exhibition as
part of our brand launch (see
opposite).